12/9/2020 Random mental math tricks (Part 1): Two-digit Numbers Multiplication | by Tyson Wu | Medium

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Tyson Wu
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Random mental math tricks (Part 1): Two-digit

Numbers Multiplication
Tyson Wu Jul 19 · 5 min read

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Introduction

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Mental math refers to the calculation of simple arithmetic expressions in mind, without
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using any paper, pencils and calculators. We often encounter some simple arithmetic
problems in our daily life — to calculate the bus fare, to do the changes, to split the bill
among a group of friends etc.. This is a skill always good to acquire in order to make
your life more convenient, or more importantly, to impress your friends by giving out an
arithmetic answer before they switch to the calculator app in their phones.

On the other hand, this is an essential skill for those who work in a quantitative field.
Traders who do trades in the financial market have to be very sensitive to numbers, and
hence a mental math session is sometimes included in the interview procedures for the
quantitative trader positions.

In this article series, I am going to share some of the quick mental math tricks and tips
that I learned during my years of study. To demonstrate these tricks and tips, I am going
to introduce several examples of arithmetic expressions and show you a go-through of
how I process the question.

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Photo Credit: Unsplash

Two-digit Numbers Multiplication

Example 1

45 * 63 = ?
Before looking into better way to tackle these kinds of multiplication problem, let’s see
how the conventional way taught in elementary schools would approach to this
question:

The Vertical Form

When we have to do multiplication of two two-digit numbers in, we may intuitively split
them into two problems of multiplication of a two-digit and a one-digit number. In the
above example, the conventional way to do the math is to split it into 45*60+45*3.

Problem arise with the usual practice

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However when we have to do the math without pencil and paper, we cannot mark any
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intermediate results and we often forget the result of 45*60 when we move onto
calculate 45*3. Not to mention that we have to add up the two results in mind for the
final answer. We have to find a better way that rely less on remembering intermediate
results.

The method
The “rule of thumb” is like this:

“Outers * Inners, Tens * Tens, Ones * Ones”

Here is the explanation:

Multiply the two “outer” digits (4 and 3) and two “inner” digits (5 and 6) then add
them up: 4*3+5*6 = 42. This is the first intermediate result. In order not to let the
intermediate result occupy your precious memory slots, you may want to remind
yourself the number 42 by using hand gesture, so 4 on left hand and 2 on right hand.

Your hand should look like this.

Moving on, we look at the two digits on the tens, and multiply them. 4*6=24. Look
at your hand again, and imagine a number 24. Align the right-most digit with the
ten on your hand and add them up as illustrated as below. You should get the
number 282 and this is the number to remember now:

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Look at your hand and imagine these numbers floating in the air

Lastly, we look at the two digits on the ones and multiply them. 5*3=15. Remember
the intermediate result 282? Align the left-most digit of 15 with the right-most digit
in the intermediate result, and add them up. And this is the final answer: 2835.

This is regarded as an improved way to do two-digit numbers multiplication as we only

require to remember at most two easy intermediate result at any instance. Also, we could
remember less with the aid of hand gestures.

Example 2
Let’s do one more example:

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79 * 23 = ?
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The number that goes through your hand and head should be noted as follows:

The first intermediate result from “Outers * Inners” should be 39.

“Add” 14 to the first intermediate result and get 179.

“Add” 27 to 179 to get 1817.

Done!

Is this what you did in your mind?

79 * 23 = ?

At first, your speed of calculation using this trick might be a little slow, but I can
guarantee that with a little practice, you will be able to come up with the answer quicker

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12/9/2020 Random mental math tricks (Part 1): Two-digit Numbers Multiplication | by Tyson Wu | Medium

than your friend who tries to input the numbers into a calculator to get the result. This is
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a trick definitely worth practicing for a bit!

Conclusion
This is a little trick that helped me do the mental math slightly faster than an average
person. Remember: practice makes perfect. Less reliance on calculator in daily life can
significantly reduce your computational time when you encounter them in the midst of a
computational-heavy math problem. Next, we will look at other little tricks for other
types of question!

Other Parts of the Mental Math Series

Part 1: Two-digit Numbers Multiplication [This Article]

Part 2: Special Multiplications

Mental Math Mathematics Multiplication

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